How Is the Safety Management Cycle Used

The SMC provides SIs and motor carriers with a step-by-step process that goes beyond
just identifying “what” the violation is to get at “why” the safety performance
issue is occurring. The tool is made up of the following six Safety Management Processes
(SMPs), which are laid out in a specific order to represent the areas of a motor
carrier’s operations: Policies and Procedures, Roles and Responsibilities, Qualification
and Hiring, Training and Communication, Monitoring and Tracking, and Meaningful
Action.

Taken together, the SMPs help to provide a framework for SIs and motor carriers
to identify and correct breakdowns or safety compliance issues before or after they
have occurred. This framework can be applied to all of the seven Behavior Analysis
and Safety Improvement Categories (BASICs): Unsafe Driving, Hours-of-Service Compliance,
Driver Fitness, Controlled Substances/Alcohol, Vehicle Maintenance, Hazardous Materials
Compliance, and Crash Indicator.

As part of this framework, SIs and motor carriers use job aids to assist them in
applying the SMC. SMC job aids are available for each of the BASICs with the exception
of the Vehicle Maintenance BASIC, which has two separate job aids: Inspection-Repair-Maintenance
and Cargo-Related. These job aids provide recommended safety improvement practices,
which FMCSA developed with input from enforcement personnel and the motor carrier
industry.

To learn more about how to use the SMC, check out the
Overview and Case Study(PDF, 2.6 MB),
which includes a fictional case study, and the SMC job aids below.

Safety Management Cycles by BASIC

Overview and Case Study

This factsheet is designed to help familiarize carriers with how to use the SMC and its six Safety Management Processes. FMCSA has also provided a supplemental case study that shows carriers how to use the SMC in the long-term.

Unsafe Driving

The SMC is a tool used by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to help identify and address motor carrier safety and compliance issues. Motor carriers can also use the SMC within their own businesses to determine which of the Safety Management Processes (SMPs) that they may need to improve by looking at the processes, management and controls associated with each SMP. This SMC focuses on the Unsafe Driving BASIC.

Hours-of-Service (HOS) Compliance

The SMC is a tool used by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to help identify and address motor carrier safety and compliance issues. Motor carriers can also use the SMC within their own businesses to determine which of the Safety Management Processes (SMPs) that they may need to improve by looking at the processes, management and controls associated with each SMP. This SMC focuses on the HOS Compliance BASIC.

Driver Fitness

The SMC is a tool used by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to help identify and address motor carrier safety and compliance issues. Motor carriers can also use the SMC within their own businesses to determine which of the Safety Management Processes (SMPs) that they may need to improve by looking at the processes, management and controls associated with each SMP. This SMC focuses on the Driver Fitness BASIC.

Controlled Substances/Alcohol

The SMC is a tool used by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to help identify and address motor carrier safety and compliance issues. Motor carriers can also use the SMC within their own businesses to determine which of the Safety Management Processes (SMPs) that they may need to improve by looking at the processes, management and controls associated with each SMP. This SMC focuses on the Controlled Substances/Alcohol BASIC.

Vehicle Maintenance - Cargo-Related

The SMC is a tool used by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to help identify and address motor carrier safety and compliance issues. Motor carriers can also use the SMC within their own businesses to determine which of the Safety Management Processes (SMPs) that they may need to improve by looking at the processes, management and controls associated with each SMP. This SMC focuses on the Vehicle Maintenance - Cargo-Related BASIC.

Vehicle Maintenance - Inspection-Repair-Maintenance

The SMC is a tool used by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to help identify and address motor carrier safety and compliance issues. Motor carriers can also use the SMC within their own businesses to determine which of the Safety Management Processes (SMPs) that they may need to improve by looking at the processes, management and controls associated with each SMP. This SMC focuses on the Vehicle Maintenance - Inspection-Repair-Maintenance BASIC.

Hazardous Materials (HM) Compliance

The SMC is a tool used by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to help identify and address motor carrier safety and compliance issues. Motor carriers can also use the SMC within their own businesses to determine which of the Safety Management Processes (SMPs) that they may need to improve by looking at the processes, management and controls associated with each SMP. This SMC focuses on the HM Compliance BASIC.

Crash Indicator

The SMC is a tool used by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to help identify and address motor carrier safety and compliance issues. Motor carriers can also use the SMC within their own businesses to determine which of the Safety Management Processes (SMPs) that they may need to improve by looking at the processes, management and controls associated with each SMP. This SMC focuses on the Crash Indicator BASIC.